TERRE HAUTE, INDIANA, October 16 — The showdown of the NCAA’s reigning women’s XC superpowers for the Pre-Nationals at LaVern Gibson was exciting and fascinating, but due to the absence of a few of the heaviest hitters, followers were left with as many questions as answers.
You could make a point how impressive it was that BYU prevailed, 84–88, despite the absence of megastar Jane Hedengren (back to training, but still recovering from illness). The Cougars benefited mightily, though, from the return of fifth-year senior Taylor Rohatinsky, whose 9th paced the narrow triumph. It was always clear Coach Diljeet Taylor’s crew had enough returnees this fall to again be a top 2–3 team, but their pack leveled up Friday.
The spread between Rohatinsky and No. 7 runner Nelah Roberts (27th) was just 30 seconds and it was BYU’s 22-point advantage in the 4–5 spots that overtook the Wolfpack. “I was really proud of that team effort,” said Taylor, “and how gutsy [Rohatinsky] was up front.”
Still, the coach of the ’20 and ’24 NCAA champs saw room for improvement, while acknowledging the impact of Hedengren’s eventual return. “Things didn’t go exactly like maybe we thought they would. We still haven’t translated practice to the race, as far as just the way we pack up… some people got out really well, some people didn’t… [but] what I love to see is the heart and the mindset of my women.”
While you could also speculate how well NC State might have done with two-time top-10 NCAA top finisher Grace Hartman or supersoph Sadie Engelhardt running, there was a clear answer to this question: Has Hannah Gapes maintained her status as a top 5–10 threat or become something more? The answer appears to be resoundingly the latter. The Wolfpack senior broke open the individual race at about the 2200m mark and powered away to an 18:57.6 victory that not only gapped the field by almost 18 seconds, but also took down Brighter Jepchumba’s new course record by the same margin.
Gapes was 8th in the ’24 NCAAs and 5th last year. Her track bests are relatively modest, but a 19th-place World XC finish this past February and a 9th in the World Road 5K last month, both for her native New Zealand, demonstrate how good she is over more challenging terrain. She now has to be considered a podium threat if not a contender to win.
“I wanted to test myself today to see what the body’s feeling like on this course before Nationals,” she said. “I really want to maximize my potential.” When asked what takeaways she had from her performance and experience on the nationals course, she added she was developing a mindset of “walking toward the pressure, not away from it; being confident, but not naïve,” as well as practical matters like “make sure you have enough lift in the last mile.”
Someone else who had enough life in the last mile was Auburn’s Faith Chelangat. She was among a chase pack of 8 behind Gapes, which dwindled to 5 in the final mile. The Kenyan frosh kicked best over the deceptively long and difficult final stretch. Her 19:15.6 saw her in ahead of Kentucky soph Ann Lemirisho, Clemson junior Silvia Jelelgo, Arizona frosh Mercy Chepkemoi and Indiana frosh Katy Zang — all of whom finished within 5 seconds.
Team-wise, No. 7 Notre Dame was a distant 3rd with 213, featuring a 26-second 1–5 spread, led by 26th-placer Mary Bonner Dalton (10th in ’25 NCAA).
PRE-NATIONALS WOMEN’S RESULTS
Teams: 1. BYU 84; 2. NC State 88; 3. Notre Dame 213; 4. Clemson 229; 5. North Carolina 249; 6. Duke 260; 7. Indiana 324; 8. Boston College 341; 9. Villanova 376; 10. Kentucky 380.
Individuals (6K): 1. Hannah Gapes’ (NCSt-NZ) 18:57.6; 2. ***Faith Chelangat’ (Aub-Ken) 19:15.5; 3. **Ann Lemirisho’ (Ky-Ken) 19:16.8; 4. *Silvia Jelelgo’ (Clem-Ken) 19:18.5; 5. ***Mercy Chepkemoi’ (Az-Ken) 19:19.1; 6. ***Katy Zang (In) 19:20.7; 7. **Doricah Minsari Isoe’ (Ky-Ken) 19:28.6; 8. *Bethany Michalak (NCSt) 19:29.9; 9. Taylor Rohatinsky (BYU) 19:33.1; 10. **Victoria Garces (Duke) 19:34.9;
11. ***Nancy Cherop’ (Clem-Ken) 19:38.4; 12. **Keira Rogan (Syr) 19:38.4; 13. *Angelina Napoleon (NCSt) 19:41.0; 14. *Taylor Lovell (BYU) 19:42.7; 15. *Allie Zealand (Lib) 19:44.5; 16. Judy Kosgei’ (Clem-Ken) 19:46.8; 17. *Emmaculate Jemutai’ (Ks-Ken) 19:50.3; 18. Lexi Goff (BYU) 19:50.6; 19. **Rose Mburu’ (SMU-Ken) 19:53.5; 20. *Karrie Baloga (BYU) 19:53.7; 21. Imogen Gardiner’ (BC-Aus) 19:54.1; 22. **Maureen Cheruiyot’ (Pitt-Ken) 19:56.1; 23. Jenna Hutchins (BYU) 19:57.3; 24. **Zariel Macchia (BYU) 19:58.0; 25. ***Caren Kipsirat’ (UtV-Ken) 19:59.7; *Mary Bonner Dalton (NDm) 20:00.0.
